Vol. 489 No. 6
228 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Defence the total cost of the recent contract awarded to supply a fishing information system to the Naval Service; the total cost of the consultancy; the terms of reference of the consultancy contract; and the reason the contract had to be awarded to a third party in view of the fact that the Navy has its own computer centre. [8827/98]
A competitive tender competition was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 24 September 1997 with the objective of upgrading existing information technology systems and putting in place new systems in order to meet Ireland's obligations under new fishery regulations. A total of 52 firms requested tender documentation and three firms responded by the closing date of 11 November, 1997. The terms of reference which were made available to all firms were, inter alia, to complete within four calendar months of the award of the contract a comprehensive analysis of the new European Union Fishery Regulations and the fishery protection operations of the Naval Service and to provide a detailed statement of requirements as well as a detailed design solution for the project requirements. Given the existing commitments in the Naval Service Computer Centre and the need to complete the analysis project quickly, it was decided that the most practicable approach would be to invite tenders and to award the contract to an outside consultant. A consultancy contract valued at approximately £500,000, inclusive of VAT, was awarded to Ernst and Young on 2 March 1998.
